Table.

Sectors in the 2016 National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) and Their Potential Role in Supporting Physical Activity

NPAP Sector	Role
Business and industry	Employers can encourage workers to be physically active. They can provide access to facilities and encourage their use through outreach activities. Businesses can consider access to opportunities for active transportation and public transit when selecting new locations.
Community, recreation, fitness, and parks	This sector plays a leading role in providing access to places for active recreation, such as playgrounds, hiking and biking trails, senior centers, sports fields, and swimming pools. This sector can also provide access to exercise programs and equipment for a broad range of people, including underserved populations and people with disabilities.
Education	This sector can take a lead role in providing opportunities for age-appropriate physical activity in all educational settings. Opportunities include offering physical education, after-school sports, and public access to school facilities during after-school hours, and expanded intramural sports and campus recreation opportunities.
Faith-based settings	Faith-based organizations can be important partners in providing access to places for physical activity and promotion through outreach activities that can be tailored for diverse faith-based groups.
Health care	Health care professionals can assess, counsel, and advise patients on physical activity and how to do it safely. Health care systems can partner with other sectors to promote access to community-based physical activity programs.
Mass media	Media outlets can provide easy-to-understand messages about the health benefits of physical activity as part of community promotion efforts. Messages can also provide information about facilities or outlets where individuals can be active.
Public health	Public health departments can monitor community progress in providing places and opportunities to be physically active and track changes in the proportion of the population meeting the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. They can also take the lead in setting objectives and coordinating activities among sectors. Public health departments and organizations can disseminate appropriate messages and information to the public about physical activity.
Sports	This sector can provide organized opportunities for people to be active. Youth sports can expose children and adolescents to a variety of age-appropriate activities that can set the basis for a lifetime of activity. Sports organizations can also ensure that sports programs are conducted in a manner that minimizes risk of injuries.
Transportation, land use, and community design	This sector plays a lead role in designing and implementing options that provide areas for safe walking, bicycling, and wheelchair walking. Public transit systems also promote walking, as people typically walk to and from transit stops. Community planners and designers can implement design principles to create communities with activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations for people of all ages and abilities. They can also help create or improve access to places for physical activity, such as parks and other green spaces.